J im   Lucas

Some Wrestling History


Jim Lucas Jim's wrestling career commenced as a Freshman in high school where he was a lowly fourth string on a lowly ranked team. Within two years, Jim became a highly ranked wrestler in California making two US Junior teams. He culminated his high school career by placing 4th in the CIF State Championships in 1970.

He went on to wrestle at top 20 Division I powerhouse San Jose State making All-PCAA honors in 1972, 1973 and 1974.

Between 1971 and 1975 Jim was on four US dual match teams competing against premier teams from Japan, Russian, Bulgaria and Germany. During this time Jim defeated three Olympic champions. He was also a participant in the 1976 Olympic Trials. Missing out on making the team, Jim took a 20 year hiatus from wrestling. But when his then-6th grade son went out for the team there was no coach. Jim took the reins of the team and coached them to three consecutive runner-up placings in the highly competitive Coast County Athletic League in Santa Cruz.

Jim also started wrestling again during this time. He won a few local tournaments going against competitors half his age. Jim then became involved in the Veterans/Masters wrestling events. Jim has won seven National titles, 18 top three National placings and an AAU Ironman World Wrestling Championship. Jim placed 3rd at the Veterans World Championships in Riga, Latvia in 2006. He placed in the top five at FILA Veterans World Championships five times and has always placed in the top ten at the Veterans World Championships. Jim is the only veterans wrestler from California to have made All-America (top 3 placing) eleven years running (1997-2007.)

Jim is currently coaching at Pajaro Valley High School in Watsonville. Prior to coaching at Pajaro Valley, Jim was the head coach at San Jose State University where he led the team to three consecutive NCWA West Conference Championships. He was named NCWA West Coach of the Year five years in a row (2003-2007). Before becoming the head coach at SJSU, Jim coached the Harbor High School team where they captured their first league championship in school history in 2001 with a record nine wrestlers qualifying for the Central Coast Sectional Championships.

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